July 26th, 2010
Hello everyone.
Sunday, July 25th marked the end of another great Open Water class. After Tropical Storm Bonnie moved away the day before, the ocean had calmed down enough to get out aboard Scubatyme Charters‘ Scubatyme III for a couple of great dives on the “Peter McAllister” tugboat and Shark Ledge Reef. Seas were 2-4ft, skies were sunny and viz was about 30ft – still churned up by TS Bonnie. I had never been to the “Peter McAllister” before and, while it is a small wreck (only 80ft long), it had an enormous amount of fish life on it. A beautiful day of diving for everyone! Congratz to my (now certified) students on a job well done!
Diving new spots here in Paradise,
Instructor Doug
So what are YOU waiting for? Summer is here, the water is warm and everyone is getting certified now so they can be ready for what looks to be a great dive season! I want to see you in one of my classes SOON! Give me a call at 954.296.6449 and let me schedule a class for you!
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July 23rd, 2010
Hello everyone.
Sunday, July 18th Instructor Doug is heading out aboard Scubatyme Charters‘ Scubatyme III with Beth and Juan who are doing their final checkout dives for their Advanced Adventure Diver certification. Seas were a bit on the “sporty” side, with waves @3-5ft, with the occasional swell at @7ft. Well, this is what Advance Diver certification is all about, so no one complained about it (I wouldn’t let them anyway!). Beth and Juan both work for a helicopter service and are used to all the briefings and checklists required for diving, so they take to the dives with great excitement. Both of our dives have pretty good currents which made the skills interesting to do, but they pulled it off! Congratulations to you both on a job well done!
Another reason to get wet here in Paradise,
Instructor Doug
So what are YOU waiting for? Summer is here and everyone is getting certified now so they can enjoy what looks to be a great dive season! I want to see you in one of my classes SOON! Give me a call at 954.296.6449 and let me schedule a class for you!
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July 23rd, 2010
Hello everyone.
Sunday, July 11th sees another Open Water class come to an end with two dives off of Scubatyme Charters‘ Scubatyme III. One more glorious weekend of sun and calm seas made for a great morning of diving as we head out to do a dive on a shallow wreck and a dive on a nearby reef. All the students were excited to be nearly finished with their certifications, and were really looking forward to their dives. I had some really good students in this class, including the wife and daughter of a former Master Diver student of mine. So far this summer, I have seen lots of families and family members getting certified so they can all go diving together. It’s a great way to have a fabulous vacation where all family members can participate!
More happy students here in Paradise,
Instructor Doug
So what are YOU waiting for? Summer is here and everyone is getting certified now so they can enjoy what looks to be a great dive season! I want to see you in one of my classes SOON! Give me a call at 954.296.6449 and let me schedule a class for you!
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July 23rd, 2010
Hello everyone.
June 27th finds another Open Water class drawing to an end with a couple of checkout dives aboard Scubatyme Charters‘ Scubatyme III. The beautiful streak of great diving conditions continues this weekend as we head out to do a dive on a shallow wreck, and then head over to a neighboring reef for our second dive. The students are all excited about their dives ( and their pending certifications ), and we are setting up gear, talking about the dives, and generally relaxing. The dives end up being fabulous, as always, and everyone is ready to get out and dive again!
Enjoying the weather and diving, diving, diving here in Paradise,
Instructor Doug
So what are YOU waiting for? Summer is here and everyone is getting certified now so they can be ready for what looks to be a great dive season! I want to see you in one of my classes SOON! Give me a call at 954.296.6449 and let me schedule a class for you!
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July 23rd, 2010
Hello everyone.
Today I changed hats a bit to be a Dive Guide for a couple of certified divers from NY who hadn’t been in the water very much. They were very interested in seeing what kinds of dives they could do here and having someone show them around a bit. The weather continues to be beautiful with flat seas and sunny skies, and once again we were aboard Scubatyme Charters‘ Scubatyme III as we headed out to do a favorite local wreck, the “Sea Emperor”. After briefing the divers on what we were planning to do, we got geared up and headed down to the wreck. They had a blast interacting with all of the resident animals and fish and were very excited when they came back up after the dive. We then headed over to a nearby reef for some “drift” diving and got to see more great animals and fish.
Getting wet whichever way I can here in Paradise,
Instructor Doug
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July 23rd, 2010
Hello everyone.
June 13th marks the end of another great Open Water class. A great group of students once again, and this time I am joined by fellow Instructor, Randy who is along to observe and assist where necessary. The streak of beautiful dive weather continues as the seas are flat, skies are sunny and visibility continues to be good. We are once again aboard Scubatyme Charters‘ Scubatyme III and heading out to our favorite shallow wreck and reef combination dives. Everyone showed great skills today and were excited to be new Open Water Divers!
Having a blast teaching SCUBA here in Paradise,
Instructor Doug
So what are YOU waiting for? Summer is coming and everyone is getting certified now so they can be ready for what looks to be a great dive season! I want to see you in one of my classes SOON! Give me a call at 954.296.6449 and let me schedule a class for you!
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July 23rd, 2010
Hello everyone.
A much smaller mixed-level class finished up today. I had 2 Master Diver candidates and 2 Open Water Diver candidates finish their checkout dives aboard Scubatyme Charters‘ Scubatyme III. Another beautiful dive weekend with great seas, weather and visibility made for two great dives to a shallow wreck and a nearby reef. All of the students were great in their skills and were really loving the underwater world we got to witness that day.
Teaching away here in Paradise,
Instructor Doug
So what are YOU waiting for? Summer is here and everyone is getting certified now so they can be ready for what looks to be a great dive season! I want to see you in one of my classes SOON! Give me a call at 954.296.6449 and let me schedule a class for you!
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July 23rd, 2010
Hello everyone.
May 30th marks the end of another great Open Water class. A great group of students finished out their checkout dives aboard Scubatyme Charters‘ Scubatyme III, going to dive on a shallow wreck and a reef. Beautiful seas, weather and visibility made for two great dives and the students were really excited to finish their certifications!
Great to be teaching SCUBA here in Paradise,
Instructor Doug
So what are YOU waiting for? Summer is here and everyone is getting certified now so they can be ready for what looks to be a great dive season! I want to see YOU in one of my classes SOON! Give me a call at 954.296.6449 and let me schedule a class for you!
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July 23rd, 2010
Hello everyone.
Today’s class was rather large so it was split into a morning boat dive and an afternoon boat dive. Once again we found ourselves aboard Scubatyme Charters‘ Scubatyme III, heading out for a beautiful day of diving. We did a shallow wreck and a reef ( both in the morning and in the afternoon ) and everyone had a blast swimming around looking at all the critters and fish. Getting the chance to dive with new divers is always fun for me because they get so excited about everything, and it rubs off on me!
Teaching SCUBA and having a blast here in paradise,
Instructor Doug
So what are YOU waiting for? Summer is here and everyone is getting certified now so they can be ready for what looks to be a great dive season! I want to see you in one of my classes SOON! Give me a call at 954.296.6449 and let me schedule a class for you!
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May 6th, 2010
Hello everyone.
The last couple of weeks have been pretty busy for Instructor Doug as there have been 5 Open Water graduates, 1 Advanced Open Water graduate, 3 Rescue Diver graduates and checkout dives for 1 Master Diver candidate and 2 Divemaster candidates! It was great scheduling everyone’s activities and making sure they all accomplished what they need to do. Rescue dives, Divemaster briefings and guided dives, compass navigation and wreck mapping for the Advanced and Master divers and working on Open Water skills kept me (and everyone else!) on their toes. After it was all said and done, everyone was real happy with their experiences and are looking forward to scheduling their next class.
Teaching, teaching, teaching here in Paradise,
Instructor Doug
So what are YOU waiting for? Summer is coming and everyone is getting certified now so they can be ready for what looks to be a great dive season! I want to see you in one of my classes SOON! Give me a call at 954.296.6449 and let me schedule a class for you!
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April 18th, 2010
Hello everyone.
On April 16th I finished up an Open Water Referral student from NJ. Frank was in town to get his checkout dives completed before heading back north, so we got two days of diving in to finish his certification requirements. On Thursday, April 15th we went to Tigertail Lake (see photo above) due to beach conditions being miserable. We got in for Frank’s first 2 dives and ran through all the skills he had been previously taught in the pool. Conditions in the lake were pretty good for a change, so after the skill sessions were done, we went swimming around and looked for the status of Venus de Milo, the radio tower and the sunken sailboat. Then it’s back to shore to break down and clean gear, and off to the dive shop.
On Friday, Frank and I are aboard Scubatyme Charters‘ “Scubatyme III” heading out for Frank’s final two checkout dives. It’s a bit “sporty” on the surface today with seas running 3-5ft, but the sun is out and visibility looks good. Captain Bob and Divemaster Enzo get us out to our first dive site – “Turtle Ledge” – and Frank and I jump in to begin our descent to the bottom. Once at the bottom, we establish current direction and begin our drift along the reef. I point out a few things to Frank and generally watch him as he is diving to see if his kick, trim and buoyancy are good. Then we head up to do our safety stop and get back on the boat.
After our surface interval and gear changeover, we arrive at our second dive site – “Lighthouse Ledge” – and jump in for our second drift dive of the day. The sun was out in full blast at this point, so the reef was putting on a good color show for us. A nice easy, relaxing dive with tons of fish to see. Soon our bottom time is up and we have to head up for safety stops and to get back on the boat. Our total “critter” sightings for the day consisted of 2 large Lobster and a large Channel Crab, along with the usual cast of fish characters: Grunts, Blue Chromis, Squirrelfish, Parrotfish and Angelfish.
Congratz to Frank for completing his certification! Hope to see you on a dive boat sometime soon.
Instructor Doug
** YOU TOO can come to Florida and get certified just like Frank. If you have a referral from your current instructor, give me a call and I can get you set up to finish your class here in warm,sunny Florida. Call 954.296.6449 today! **
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April 12th, 2010
Hello everyone.
Sunday, April 11th marked the end of another successful Open Water Class for Instructor Doug. My students and I are aboard Scubatyme Charters‘ “Scubatyme III” once again, heading out to do a shallow wreck and a reef. This time we are joined by Carl, an Advanced Open Water student doing his last 2 checkout dives as well. It’s a somewhat overcast but warm day as Captain Dave and Divemaster Amanda get our gear onboard and start heading out to our dive sites.
After briefing the students on their responsibilities for today, we get our gear set up and get ready to get in. The first dive site is going to be a favorite of mine, “The Sea Emperor” and I can’t wait to get there. I have shot many hours of beautiful video on this wreck and know all the resident critters very well. After we arrive, we’re ready to jump in and head down the descent line to the wreck. Almost as soon as I get everyone settled for their skill session, a couple of students are frantically pointing behind me at something. I turn around to see a 7ft-long Manta Ray slowly swimming past the wreck! It was AMAZING and only the 2nd one I have ever seen (ironically the other one was on MY open water checkout dives many years ago). Well, not much else I could show them after that, but we toured the wreck and reef anyway, then headed back to the line for our safety stop and return to the surface.
After gear changeover and our surface interval, we arrive at “Lighthouse Ledge” for our second dive of the day. The students and I drop in and begin our descent to the bottom. We determine the direction of the current and let it push us along, looking for cool stuff along the way. We saw a couple of Lobster, lots of Blue Chromis, Grunts, Squirrelfish and Angelfish, and we kept zig-zagging across the reef checking out the view. It was nice that the sun came out while we were down, so the colors were really popping. Soon the end of dive signal is given and we begin our ascent to our safety stop and ultimately the boat.
The guys and gals did a great job today and I was very proud of how far they had come since our first pool session. Congratz to you all!!
Having a blast teaching here in Paradise,
Instructor Doug
** So when are YOU going to join in one of my classses and get to witness the underwater world for yourself? I will be starting a new class soon and would love to see you in it! Give me a call today at 954.296.6449 and I can get you started!! **
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April 12th, 2010
Hello everyone.
On Sunday, April 4th I finished up a class composed of both Open Water and Advanced Open Water students from Scuba Network. We did a total of 6 dives for the Advanced students and 5 dives for the Open Water students. We were out on Deerfield Beach for a couple of dives, then we were out once again aboard Scubatyme Charters‘ “Scubatyme III” for the remaining dives.
Dive locations were: Deerfield Beach (2 dives), “Shark Ledge”, “Turtle Ledge”, a night dive on “The Ancient Mariner” and a night dive on “Lighthouse Ledge”. The fish and animal sightings varied, but we managed to see: Grunts, Barracuda, Sea Hares, Midnight Parrotfish, a Nurse Shark, Porkfish, Sea Cucumbers, Spotted Moray eel, Green Moray eel, Blue Chromis, Basket Starfish and a Lobster. All the students were excited about all the marine life and had a great experience during their certifications. I look forward to seeing you all on a boat in the future!!
Giving new divers great experiences here in Paradise,
Instructor Doug
** You too can become an Advanced Open Water Diver. All it takes is to read the class book, get some additional gear (Dive lights, Safety Sausage, Camera and Fish ID slate) and do the 6 required dives. You’ll get to experience a lot of different areas of scuba diving along the way and you may even find something that interests you!! Give me a call today at 954.296.6449 and I can get you started! **
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April 12th, 2010
Hello everyone.
On April 1st I finished an Open Water Referral student’s checkout dives. Nish was down from NY to finish up his certification and we were aboard Scubatyme Charters‘ “Scubatyme III” heading out to a couple of great dive sites. Captain Bob and DM Enzo were aboard to help get our gear loaded and underway. It was a beautiful day with calm seas and warm temps.
Our first dive site was the wreck of “The Ancient Mariner”. After Nish and I got geared up, we headed down the wreck line and began to explore the wreck. The usual cast of characters were present: a Burrfish, a couple of Scorpionfish, a Barracuda in the wheelhouse, an Arrow Crab and lots of Midnight Parrotfish. After our tour of the wreck is done, we head back to the ascent line and safety stop, and then back aboard the boat. We talk a bit about what we saw, switch out tanks and I give Nish some feedback on his performance to this point.
After our surface interval is up, we find ourselves at our next dive site, a reef called “Abby Too”. The reef put on her best show today with massive schools of Grunts, Squirrelfish, more Burrfish, Angelfish and a couple more Scorpionfish. It was a nice drift along the reef and very relaxing as well! All too soon it seems, we have to start our ascent for our safety stop and get back on the boat. It was a great day of diving and my student, Nish, was very thrilled with the experience.
Doing what I do best here in Paradise,
Instructor Doug
** So will I be seeing YOU in one of my classes sometime soon? Give me a call today at 954.296.6449 and let me get you started on the road to scuba certification! **
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March 29th, 2010
Hello everyone!
Sunday March 28th finds Instructor Doug along with his Open Water students aboard Scubatyme Charters‘ “SCUBATYME III” for their last 2 checkout dives. If all goes well today, they will end up as certified divers. Mother Nature is doing her best to thwart us though, with lots of wind and 3-6ft seas. It’s gonna be a “sporty” day for sure. Captain Dave, Divemaster Amanda, and Divemaster Enzo are getting us all aboard and underway to our dive sites for the day. I get busy getting my students to get their gear set up and do their buddy checks, and give them all a briefing on the drift diving procedures we will be using today.
After a somewhat bouncy ride out of the Inlet, we arrive at our first dive site, “TURTLE LEDGE”, and begin our descent to the reef below. We take a nice ride on the current, checking out the reef as we go along. Visibility was a bit short today, so it was easy to miss things, but the students all enjoyed the schools of Squirrelfish, Grunts, Blue Chromis and the one and only Lobster of the day. Soon after that, it is time to end the dive and begin our ascent to our safety stop, and then the boat. Conditions on the boat made it necessary for everyone to remove their fins on the tagline and get pulled over to the boat ladder, and all the students pulled it off without a hitch! They were even complimented on their training by one of the other Instructors on the boat!
After switching over our gear and waiting for our surface interval to be over, it’s time to jump in at our next dive site, “LIGHTHOUSE LEDGE”. The sun is trying to make an appearance at this point, so I’m hoping for better visibility and colors for the students to see. Unfortunately, not much sunlight made it down to the reef, but there were still some colors to see and we even saw an 8ft Nurse Shark resting under the reef ledge. THAT got everyone excited for sure! As we traveled further down the reef, I am watching my students checking things out and seemingly getting more relaxed with their equipment. All too soon, it’s time for our ascents to our safety stop and back to the boat.
I am VERY proud of all my students today. They endured some really “Sporty” conditions today and proved to me they had what it takes to be a safe diver. They definitely earned their certifications! Congratz to all of you!
Teaching the days away here in Paradise,
Instructor Doug
DON’T FORGET! My next Open Water Class starts on March 31st. It’s not too late to sign up and start YOUR dive adventure! Call me today at 954.296.6449!
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March 29th, 2010
Hello everyone!
Friday March 26th finds Instructor Doug and his Open Water referral student, Todd, out aboard Scubatyme Charters‘ “Scubatyme III” to do a couple of Open Water checkout dives. We are also joined by one of my previous students, Lance, who is tagging along for the dive experience. It’s a beautiful day weather-wise with sunny skies and flat-calm seas as Captain Bob and Divemaster Enzo head us out the Hillsboro Inlet to our dive sites for the day. I get Todd started setting up his gear and give him a briefing on wreck diving and what to expect for skills for the day.
In no time at all, Captain Bob has us out to our first dive site, the “Sea Emperor”, a favorite dive site of mine with lots of animals that divers can interact with. Todd and I jump in and head down the wreck line to the bottom, then begin a little tour of the area. Almost immediately, I find one of the two resident Green Moray eels on top of the wreck and head over to play with it while Todd takes pictures. He couldn’t believe that I got “nose-to-nose” with the eel! We swam around a bit more checking out the wreck, then headed back over to the ascent line to start our ascent to the surface. At this point, one of the resident Southern Stingrays comes over to play with us a bit before heading off into the blue. It was a great experience for Todd and he couldn’t stop talking about it while we changed over our gear for the next dive!
Dive site #2 was on a reef called “Lighthouse Ledge”, and almost immediately after we dropped down to the reef we encountered a large Sea Turtle! This is the time of year they start to come to shore to lay eggs, so it’s common during this period to see turtles on their way to shore, or coming back from laying eggs. This turtle didn’t seem to mind us being around, so Todd handed me his camera and had me shoot some photos for him. After the turtle encounter, we continued traveling down the reef and came across another Green Moray under a ledge and later a pretty good-sized Lobster. By then our time was up and we began our ascent to our safety stop and, ultimately, the boat.
A good day of diving with students and friends here in Paradise,
Instructor Doug
HEY! When are you gonna let me take YOU out to the reef and see Turtles and Green Morays and Lobsters? All you have to do is give me a call and get into my next class (if you’re not already certified), or have me escort you on a dive as a guide (if you’re already certified).
My next Open Water class starts March 31st, so call me today at 954.296.6449 to get started on YOUR next dive adventure!
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March 23rd, 2010
Hello everyone.
Saturday March 20th finds Instructor Doug out on Scubatyme Charters‘ “Scubatyme III” with Melissa and Amber who came down from Michigan to go diving. I am acting as guide for Amber today as she has never been diving in the ocean before. It’s a beautiful day out and the ocean is nearly flat as Captain Dave and Divemaster Enzo get us underway and headed for the first of our two divesites for the morning. Captain Bob made a guest appearance as well, out to get some “bugs” before the season ends.
I get busy getting Melissa and Amber to get their gear set up and provide any assistance if they need it. After that is done, I give them a briefing on how wreck and drift diving is done around here, and answer any questions they may have. In no time at all we arrive at our first dive site, “The Tracy”, a nice-sized wreck with plenty of large areas to swim through. Melissa has her camera with her and we all go looking for things to photograph. We take a nice leisurely tour around the wreck and we see a Barracuda in the wheelhouse, a Sea Urchin on the deck and a Scorpionfish trying to blend in with the growth along the railings. After that, it’s time to head back to the line and begin our ascent to our safety stop, and then back to the boat.
Back on the boat we talk about how the dive went and what everyone saw, and then we begin to switch our gear over for our next dive, a drift dive along “Anglin’ Pier Reef”. After we jump in and head for the bottom, we determine the current direction and begin drifting along the reef. Since the sun was out, we got to see a lot of color on the reef and there were plenty of Grunts, Squirrelfish, some juvenile Hogfish, a Channel Crab and one huge Lobster. It was a very pretty and relaxing dive and, way too soon, it is time to begin our ascent to our safety stop and then the dive boat.
Two very nice dives with two very nice girls here in Paradise.
Instructor Doug
Don’t Forget! If YOU need a guide for your next dive adventure, give me a call at 954.296.6449 and I’ll be happy to arrange a guided trip for you!
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March 15th, 2010
Hello everyone.
Sunday March 14th marked the end of another Open Water class as my 4 students Trevor, Patrick, Ryan, Kim and myself all boarded Scubatyme Charters‘ “Scubatyme III” for a wreck and reef dive combo. Captain Dave and the ever-popular Divemaster Amanda get all our tanks and gear aboard and head us on our way to our dives. All of the pool classes and beach dives have gotten us to this point, and my students have been working hard all week, so I am going to show them the “fun” side of diving today!
Dive #1 was on the “Ancient Mariner”, part of the artificial reef program here in South Florida. Sitting in @70fsw, the deck sits at @60fsw and the top of the wheelhouse is @45fsw. Upon arriving on the wreck and, after a final gear check, we take a tour of the wreck and I point out various things for my students to look at. There were Barracuda in the wheelhouse, Blue Parrotfish swimming just off the deck, and lots of Grunts. There was a small south current and I showed the students how to use the wreck to block the current so they wouldn’t have to work so hard. After our tour was complete we headed for the ascent line, our safety stop, and finally the dive boat.
Back on deck, everyone was chattering about what they saw and how cool the wreck was, and I got them started on switching out tanks for our next dive. Dive #2 was a drift dive on “Turtle Ledge”. Once in the water, we dropped as a group to the reef and began our drift with the current. We zig-zagged over the reef checking out the Angelfish, Squirrelfish, Parrotfish and Blue Chromis, then we saw a HUGE Channel Crab having a snack on something. We only saw one Lobster the whole dive, but it was pretty big as well. All too soon our dive is over, and we head up to our safety stop and then get back on the boat.
Two really cool dives with very excited students. Although the air temp was a little chilly, we all had a great time and my students (now they can be called divers!) are anxious to go diving again! Congratz to everyone for finishing and hope to see you on a dive boat real soon!
Having lots of fun here in Paradise,
Instructor Doug
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March 2nd, 2010
Hello everyone.
Sunday February 28th finds Instructor Doug and my current Open Water students Felipe, Vanessa, Isabel, Drew, Lance and Josefina aboard Scubatyme Charters‘ Scubatyme III heading out to do their final Open Water checkout dives. We have the whole boat to ourselvesToday is the day they prove to me that they can be divers! Captain Dave and Divemaster Amanda make sure everyone’s gear is stowed aboard and I get the students started assembling their gear. We are headed out to the first of our two dive sites, the “Ancient Mariner” and I give everyone a dive briefing along the way. Upon arriving at our site I jump in, followed by the students, and we make a final surface check before heading down to the wreck. Following the ascent line set up by Amanda, we reach the bottom and begin our dive. We tour around the wreck and I point out things for everyone to look at. I notice everyone’s eyes are constantly moving around taking everything in. After our tour of the wreck, one of the students gives me the pre-arranged “end of dive” signal, and we arrive at the ascent line to head up to our safety stop and, finally, the boat.
On the boat we chat about what we saw, my evaluation of their skills so far, switch over our tanks, and talk about our next dive which will be a drift dive along “Lighthouse Ledge”. After our surface interval, I get everyone ready and we jump in. After a quick surface check, we drop down as a group and head for the bottom. I get everyone neutrally buoyant before we reach the reef, and we begin our drift dive checking out all the fish, critters and corals along the way. Everyone did a great job on this dive and, before long, we are heading up to our safety stop and the boat.
Despite the cold wind, everyone had a great time and the dives were all they could talk about. Congratulations to my students on their certification! I hope to see you all on a dive boat real soon!
Instructor Doug
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March 2nd, 2010
Hello everyone.
Saturday, February 27th finds Instructor Doug out on the beach with my Open Water students Felipe, Lance, Josefina, Drew, Karen, Jim, Eddie and Ralph. Some of the students are just starting their Open Water experience, and some are finishing up today. Weather was great and the ocean was calm but chilly as I get everyone organized and setting up their gear. After a briefing of the dive site and our first dive, we head out as a group to the dive site and proceed to the bottom to begin our skill session. I run everyone through this dive’s required skills, and we head back to shore to switch over tanks and get some water and snacks before jumping back in. On the way back to shore I saw a dark spot moving through the water near the beach and went over to investigate, nearly running into a manatee! It heard us splashing around as we were trying to get out and took off swimming quickly away. Very cool!
After switching out our tanks and resting a bit, we head back into the water for our next dive and drop down to our dive site to finish out our required skills. We get time to take a little tour of the reef nearby and give some of the students a taste of what they can expect for tomorrow’s dives, then head back to shore (no manatees this time). After showing everyone how to properly break down and clean their gear, we head back to the dive shop to fill out log books and talk about tomorrow’s dives.
Congratulations to Eddie and Ralph for completing their required dives and receiving their certification! Keep diving guys!
Playing at the beach here in Paradise,
Instructor Doug
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March 1st, 2010
Hello everyone.
Friday, February 26th finds Instructor Doug, Rochelle, Eddie and Ralph (2 more referral students from NYC) aboard Scubatyme Charters‘ “Scubatyme III” heading out to do a couple of drift dives. These will be Rochelle’s last 2 checkout dives, and Eddie and Ralph’s first 2 checkout dives. I get everyone organized aboard the boat and have them begin setting up their gear. Captain Dave and Divemaster Enzo get us out to our first dive site, “Sunkist Reef”, and after a dive briefing by me, we get into the water to start our drift dive. The sun had just come out as we were reaching the bottom, and the reef was out in all it’s glory. Lots of fish, a couple of stingrays and lobsters as we drifted along with the current. I am monitoring everyone’s buddy, neutral buoyancy and kicking skills as we drift along checking everything out. When one of the students gives me the pre-arranged “end of dive” signal, I get everyone together and we head up to our safety stop and, ultimately the dive boat.
Back on the boat, we talk about what we saw and I go over what we are doing for our next dive. I get everyone started on switching out dive gear and Captain Dave takes us to our next dive site, “Lighthouse Ledge”. We jump in and begin heading down to the reef to start our drift dive. A lot more schools of fish this time around and, with very little current to contend with, we are able to take out time checking out the reef. One lobster was out, a spotted eel, and a couple of pufferfish as well. Once again I get the “end of dive” signal from one of the students and we start heading up to our safety stop and then the dive boat.
Congratulations to Rochelle for completing her Open Water certification. Well done!
Instructor Doug
** So when are YOU going to take the step and begin YOUR Open Water certification? Classes are forming regularly, and private classes are also available! Call me at 954.296.6449 to reserve your spot today!! **
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March 1st, 2010
Hello everyone.
Thursday, February 25th finds Instructor Doug once again at Commercial Blvd. beach with Rochelle, a private open water referral student from NYC, doing her first 2 open water checkout dives. A chilly, windy but sunny day, the ocean is calm and looks very inviting. After giving Rochelle a briefing about the beach and what skills we are working on today, we get geared up and head out to our dive site. I run her through that dive’s required skills, and we then get to take a little tour of the nearby reef. She was very happy with all the fish we saw, and I found the cannons that were placed on the bottom as part of the “snorkel trail”. We head back to the beach and get our gear switched over and, after a briefing on our next dive, we head back into the water and our dive site. Once again I run Rochelle through all of her required skills, and we get to tour another section of the reef this time. Lots more fish and a few sea urchins later, it’s time to start heading back for the beach. On the beach, I show Rochelle how to break down the gear and properly clean it, then we head back to the dive shop to do our logbooks and talk about tomorrow’s boat dives.
Another successful beach dive day here in Paradise!
Instructor Doug
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March 1st, 2010
Hello everyone.
Wednesday, February 24 marks the beginning of my next Open Water class at the Pompano Aquatic Center. Tonight I have 4 students who are taking their first steps into the world of SCUBA. Lance, Felipe, Karen and Jim arrive all eager to get started (a couple of them already had their wetsuits on!) and, after getting everyone’s gear organized on the pool deck, I give them all a briefing on the pool site and the skills we will be covering. After going over gear assembly with them, it’s time for their swim tests. Upon completion of the swim tests, we get into the pool and I show them how to assist their buddies with donning gear and how to do buddy checks. Then we begin the skill session, and I show them the basic skills of clearing their masks and regulators, finding a lost regulator, neutral buoyancy, alternate air ascents, etc. Everyone did well (a few skills needed a little coaching) and the time just flew by! I showed the students how to do a ladder exit (as if climbing into a boat) and then how to break down and clean their gear. After a de-briefing of the night’s activities and feedback on their skills, we talked about the next pool session and our upcoming beach and boat dives.
Another fun pool session completed!
Instructor Doug
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March 1st, 2010
Hello everyone.
Tuesday, February 23 finds Instructor Doug at the Pompano Aquatic Center for a private Open Water pool session with my student, Josephina. We pretty much have the pool to ourselves as I give her a briefing on the pool and what we are going to accomplish in this session. After going over assembling the SCUBA unit and doing her swim test, we get into the pool to begin SCUBA skills. I teach her how to clear her regulator and mask, how to achieve neutral buoyancy, how to take her gear off on the surface and underwater, the proper method for putting on her fins using her buddy, and much more. She was a very smart student, at times even telling me how to do some of the skills! I have no doubt that she will make a great Open Water SCUBA Diver once this class is finished.
Instructor Doug
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March 1st, 2010
Hello everyone.
After a successful day of beach dives yesterday with referral students Peter and Lindsay, today we are aboard South Florida Diving Headquarters‘ “Aqua View” heading out for the final 2 required open water dives. The day is chilly, but the sun is out and the seas are calm. I get Peter and Lindsay aboard the boat and starting to set up their dive gear and give them a dive briefing before we head out. Captain Shane and Divemaster Bjorn get us out to our first dive site “Lighthouse Ledge” in quick order and we prepare to get in the water. After jumping in, we head to the bottom and follow the current along the reef, checking out all the fish and animal life along the way. I am watching my students to check out their buddy, kicking and neutral buoyancy skills. Before long, I get the pre-arranged “end of dive” signal from one of them and we begin our ascent to our safety stop and then the dive boat.
Back on the boat, we talk about what we saw, how their skills went and what we were going to work on for the next dive. After switching out our tanks, it was time to get back in the water at out next dive site – a reef called “The Sanctuary”. We drop down and begin drifting with the current and checking out the life on the reef. At one point, I came across a lobster net and a tickle stick that had been dropped by someone – quite a while ago based on the growth attached to it. I picked it up anyway, and less than 5 minutes later came across a Lobster sitting on the reef just asking to be caught. My students watched as I took a couple of tries to catch it, and then we headed for our safety stop before heading up to the boat.
We had a great day of diving here in Paradise. I made two new friends over the course of the last 2 days and they had some great experiences to tell their friends!
Instructor Doug
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March 1st, 2010
Hello everyone.
Wednesday, February 17th finds Instructor Doug out on Commercial Blvd beach with 2 referral students, Peter and Lindsay, doing their first 2 open water checkout dives. It was a bright sunny day with calm seas and water temps hovering around 70 degrees. After a briefing on the dive site and the skills we would be doing, I take Peter and Lindsay out to our designated dive spot and we descend to a nice sandy area on the bottom to do our skills. I run them both through that dive’s required skills (mask remove/replace, regulator recovery, neutral buoyancy, compass navigation and alternate air ascent) and they performed flawlessly. We had a little “free” time at the end of the dive, so I took them on a brief tour of the nearby reef to give them a taste of the boat dives we would be doing tomorrow.
Back on the beach, we switch out our tanks and I give Peter and Lindsay another briefing on our next dive, and we head out again for our dive site to finish off their required skills (gear remove/replace, knife communications, CESA) and we got to take another tour of the reef (in a different direction this time!). We found golf balls, a puffer fish and a big ship anchor that had been placed on the bottom by the local city as part of a “snorkel trail”. Then it was back to the beach to break down gear and get cleaned up before heading to the dive shop to do log books and get ready for tomorrow’s boat dives.
A great day of diving with students!
Instructor Doug
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February 10th, 2010
Hello everyone.
My next Open Water class starts on February 22nd! It’s not too late to get your online coursework done and get your gear for the class. There are still a couple of spots left, so call me at 954.296.6449 today! Deadline to have coursework and gear purchases is Sunday, February 21st.
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February 1st, 2010
Hello everyone!
Sunday January 31st finds Instructor Doug out on Scubatyme III with my Open Water students Tim, Heather, Ron and Theresa, doing their last two OW Checkout dives. After getting beat up at the beach and surviving 60 degree water at Tigertail Lake on Saturday, my students were really looking forward to a great day of boat diving. And the weather cooperated (although it was cloudy) with flat seas, 50 ft of visibility and 72 degree water temps. Captain Dave and Divemaster Amanda got us underway and out to our dive sites with their usual great skill, and we all got ready to jump in.
Our first dive site was the “Ancient Mariner”, a former floating restaurant which is now part of our artificial reef program. We follow the descent line down to the wreck and, after a final gear check, we begin our tour of the site. I point out various things for the students to look at while I am secretly monitoring their buoyancy and buddy skills, and we get to view the whole wreck before it is time to head back to the ascent line, our safety stop, and finally the boat.
After changing out our gear and listening to me give the briefing on the drift dive, we jump in again and head for our second dive site, Lighthouse Ledge. We get down to the reef and without any current to assist us, begin a lazy drift dive and see what we can see. Lots of Grunts, Angel Fish, Parrot Fish and Blue Chromis, as well as a pretty big Lobster (the only one we saw). The students were thrilled with all the fish and really enjoyed their dive. Once we reach our end of dive pressure, it’s time to do our free ascent back to our safety stop depth, then finally the surface and back on the boat.
So another Open Water class comes to a successful end. Congratulations to Tim, Heather, Ron and Theresa and I hope I see you on a dive boat real soon!!
What about you? Looking to get certified or know a friend or co-worker who is interested? Contact me and I will set everything up and get you certified in 2 weeks or less!
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January 16th, 2010
Hello everyone!
Friday, January 15th finds me out on Scubatyme III with fellow divers Deb and Sara, heading out to do a couple of reef drift dives. Deb and Sarah hadn’t been in the water for a while and they really wanted to go diving before Sarah left for school. They were a bit nervous and I offered to guide them for the morning. They readily accepted and we began to set up gear and talk about our upcoming adventure. Captain Bob and Divemaster Enzo carefully navigated the boat in the 4ft waves out to our first destination – Lighthouse Ledge Reef.
Once we are all ready to jump in, Captain Bob gets us into position over the reef. Before I jump in, he asks me if I would do him a favor and send up a signal of some kind if we came across the dreaded Lionfish that has been spotted on this reef. So off we go to drift along the reef and possibly find a Lionfish. The water was 73 degrees and visibility was a great 50ft so I knew this would be a great drift. About 10 minutes into the dive I spot a school of Spadefish near the reef and head over casually to shoot some video. Once I am done with the video, I look around for my 2 buddies and notice they are pointing at something. Sure enough, they had found the Lionfish (they actually found 2)! Of course I took the opportunity to shoot some video first, then inflated one of my SMBs and sent it to the surface so Bob could get some GPS numbers for the REEF Foundation people to come and capture them. After that excitement was over, we all headed off to see what else we could find. Deb and Sarah were amazed at the quantities of fish we have here. They have been diving all over the Pacific and the fish in that area are scarce due to overfishing by the locals. After a few more minutes, I signal that our bottom time is up and we head up for our safety stop and, ultimately, the boat.
Once back on the boat, Deb and Sarah felt a little less anxious about the reefs, and we chatted about what we saw and hoped to see on the next dive. Captain Bob headed us over to Abbey Too Reef (a fave of mine) and we got prepared to do our second dive. Due to current and wave action and the way the flag was pulling me all over the reef on the first dive, I decided that taking the video camera down this time wouldn’t be easy, so I left it aboard. We all jump in and begin drifting along the reef. The sun was really bright at this point and the colors on the reef really popped. Soon after we get in I spot a big Green Moray and I wave everyone over to look at it. It was kinda shy and tried to duck back in a hole, but we could still see it. A little bit after that we found the tail of a Spotted Eel, but we couldn’t find the other end! We also saw more Spadefish and Deb found a Lobster. Neither of them had ever seen one before, so I coaxed it out of it’s hole so they could see the whole thing. I was thinking about taking it with us on the dive, but I could see that it was too short to keep. All too soon our bottom time is up and we start heading up to our safety stop. Deb and Sarah were really relaxed at this point – so much so that they were playing “Rock, Paper, Scissors” for the whole safety stop!
Despite the 4ft seas, it was a great sunny, warm day for diving and I made two new friends and showed them a few things they had never seen before. Hopefully we will dive together again soon!
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January 11th, 2010
Hello everyone.
Saturday, January 9th finds me and my student Tucker aboard “Safari Diver” heading out to catch some “bugs” and work on Tucker’s Underwater Hunter/Collector Specialty. The dive operator thought we were nuts because the air temp was 47 degrees (but the water temp was 75 degrees). Anyway, out of a pre-booked group of 11 divers, it ended up just being Tucker and myself, along with Chris (a buddyless diver from Kentucky) who were brave enough to venture out on this bizarrely cold South Florida day. The ocean was completely fogged in and surface visibility was about 40ft! I have never seen anything like it in all the years I have lived here.
Captain Shane took us out the Inlet to our first dive site, “Sunkist Reef”, where he dropped us on the back side in about 80ft to hunt for lobster. The three of us drifted along looking in every nook and cranny for the elusive bugs, and we ended up with nada after the first dive. I found an anchor and used my lift bag to send it to the surface, so it wouldn’t be damaging the reef any further. We also saw lots of Scrawled Filefish, a Trunkfish or two, a few Rainbow Parrotfish, and lots of Juvenile Spanish Hogfish. After heading up and completing our safety stop, we reluctantly got back on the boat, changed over our gear real fast, and headed for the warmth of the cabin.
After about 40 minutes on the surface, we shed our warm coats and hats and try to get into our gear as quickly as possible so we can jump back in the warm water. This time we are on the front side of “Sunkist Reef”. Since the bugs weren’t out deep on the first try, we were going to look for them a little shallower this time. Lots of searching later, Tucker finally spots a bug and signals me to come over. He uses his snare (as I instructed him to) to tickle the lobster out of the hole, then successfully slips the noose around the tail and catches the lobster. He passes it over to me for measuring and, unfortunately it is just a bit too small to keep. Darn! I could tell he was disappointed, but at the same time excited that he actually caught it! Shortly after this, Tucker signals me that he is at the agreed-upon air limit and we head up for our safety stop and the boat. It was a great day despite the surface weather, and we all had lots to talk about on the trip back in to the dock.
Congratz to Tucker on his Underwater Hunter/Collector certification, and I hope to go hunting with you again sometime soon!!
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